Elections Election commission members counting ballots during early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan, Astana, 15 January 2012. (OSCE/Jens Eschenbaecher) Observer training While it is primarily the responsibility of OSCE participating States to provide ODIHR with trained and experienced observers, the Office continued to assist participating States in organizing training for election observers. This training is meant to provide observers with the necessary election observation skills and knowledge and to underscore the need for a unified approach in the Office’s election observation. In 2012, ODIHR conducted two training events for short-term observers, in Sarajevo, and one for long-term observers, in Istanbul. They were made possible by generous support from participating States through extrabudgetary contributions. These training courses aimed to broaden the pool of observers from participating States eligible under the Fund for Diversification. In total, ODIHR trained 61 short-term observers and 31 longterm observers in 2012. ODIHR also supported national training efforts for election observers and provided training for the German Centre for International Peace Operations, the N ­ orwegian Centre for Human Rights, the ­Russian Diplomatic Academy, the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the ­London-based Electoral Reform International Services and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. In addition, 2012 saw the launch of an online e-learning module for short-term observers, which is also available in Russian. Over 300 observers from over 100 countries, including 49 participating States, successfully completed the course in 2012. Support for OSCE Partners for Co-operation ODIHR continues to offer electionrelated support to OSCE Partners for Co-operation. In 2012, the Office presented the final report of the Election Support Team for the 2010 parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. ODIHR also continued its engagement with Tunisia. As part of a German-funded project to promote democratic structures among OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation, the Office translated six handbooks into Arabic and invited government and civil society representatives to its training events for short- and long-term observers. ODIHR also provided a legal opinion on Tunisia’s draft law on establishing an elections management body; the first time ODIHR has provided an election-related legal review for a Mediterranean Partner for Co-operation. ODIHR Annual Report 2012 17